The Effect of Mobile Financial Service on Migrant Worker’s Money Transfer Behavior in Bangladesh

Abstract

Mobile financial service (MFS) works as a vital money transfer instrument for migrant workers in developing countries like Bangladesh, where the poor migrant workers had no access to financial institutions like banks before 2010. Before introducing MFS, migrant workers used to transfer money through friends/relatives, travel agents, agents/brokers, couriers, postal service etc. However, after 2010, they can use MFS services to send, receive, and other transactions activity. The aim of this study is to find out the behavioral changes of migrant workers on money transfer (frequency of and amount of money transfer) due to the introduction of Mobile Financial Service. To accomplish this task, we are going to use the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regression Analysis. Furthermore, we have done a comparative analysis of the frequency of money transfer and the amount of money transfer of migrant workers. This study investigates the data of Bangladesh Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2010 and 2016 to find out the changing behavior of migrant workers towards money transfer. The analysis also focuses on statistically significant evidence suggesting that mobile financial services impact the frequency and amount of money transfer for individuals.